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Prepared food and beverages drove momentum, with 6.6% same-store sales growth and a 59.5% margin.
Casey's expects inside sales to rise 2-5% in fiscal 2027 while targeting at least 120 new stores.
Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (CASY - Free Report) continues to benefit from solid momentum across its food and grocery categories, supporting the performance of its inside business. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, inside same-store sales increased 5.5%, while inside margin reached 42.4%. The performance reflects continued strength across prepared food, dispensed beverages, grocery and general merchandise, highlighting the company’s differentiated in-store offering.
A key contributor to this momentum is the prepared food and dispensed beverage category. Same-store sales increased 6.6% in the quarter, with whole pizzas, appetizers and sides supporting performance. The category generated a 59.5% margin. Casey’s has continued to broaden its food platform through Thin Crust Pizza, limited-time pizza offerings, an expanded specialty pizza menu, a revamped hot sandwich lineup and new beverage platforms.
The expansion of chicken wings provides another avenue to strengthen the prepared food platform. Casey’s expanded its sauced wings program to nearly 850 stores by the end of fiscal 2026 and plans to extend the offering across the remainder of its store base over the next two fiscal years. Management views wings as an incremental food occasion, with customers who place standalone wings orders increasing their prepared food purchase frequency by 30%.
Grocery and general merchandise are supporting the inside business through favorable category mix. Fourth-quarter same-store sales increased 5.1%, while margin reached 35.7%. Energy drinks remained a strong area within nonalcoholic beverages, while the shift toward nicotine alternatives and Casey’s broader liquor assortment are expected to provide structural margin benefits.
Casey’s expects inside same-store sales to increase 2-5% in fiscal 2027, with inside margin above 42%. Management also expects EBITDA to increase 8-10% and plans to open at least 120 stores through a mix of acquisitions and new construction. Continued development of the prepared food platform and favorable grocery category mix should provide additional support for the company’s inside-store growth strategy.
Casey's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of the company have surged 65.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s 65.9% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CASY is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 1.49X, up from the industry average of 1.12X. It has a Value Score of B.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Casey's fiscal 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 10.2%, whereas the same for fiscal 2028 indicates an uptick of 11%. Estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised downward by 3 cents and 6 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Casey's currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Key Picks
We have highlighted three better-ranked stocks in the retail space, namely Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , Macy's, Inc. (M - Free Report) and Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) .
Target Corporation offers guests fashionable, differentiated merchandise and everyday essentials at discounted prices. It currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests growth of 37.7% and 4.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. TGT delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 10.5%.
Macy's sells a wide range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Macy's current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests decline of 4.3% and growth of 0.1%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. Macy's delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 211%.
Dollar General is one of the largest discount retailers in the United States. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar General’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 7.6% and 3.9%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. DG delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 21%.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Casey's Food and Grocery Categories Fuel Strong Inside Sales Momentum
Key Takeaways
Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (CASY - Free Report) continues to benefit from solid momentum across its food and grocery categories, supporting the performance of its inside business. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, inside same-store sales increased 5.5%, while inside margin reached 42.4%. The performance reflects continued strength across prepared food, dispensed beverages, grocery and general merchandise, highlighting the company’s differentiated in-store offering.
A key contributor to this momentum is the prepared food and dispensed beverage category. Same-store sales increased 6.6% in the quarter, with whole pizzas, appetizers and sides supporting performance. The category generated a 59.5% margin. Casey’s has continued to broaden its food platform through Thin Crust Pizza, limited-time pizza offerings, an expanded specialty pizza menu, a revamped hot sandwich lineup and new beverage platforms.
The expansion of chicken wings provides another avenue to strengthen the prepared food platform. Casey’s expanded its sauced wings program to nearly 850 stores by the end of fiscal 2026 and plans to extend the offering across the remainder of its store base over the next two fiscal years. Management views wings as an incremental food occasion, with customers who place standalone wings orders increasing their prepared food purchase frequency by 30%.
Grocery and general merchandise are supporting the inside business through favorable category mix. Fourth-quarter same-store sales increased 5.1%, while margin reached 35.7%. Energy drinks remained a strong area within nonalcoholic beverages, while the shift toward nicotine alternatives and Casey’s broader liquor assortment are expected to provide structural margin benefits.
Casey’s expects inside same-store sales to increase 2-5% in fiscal 2027, with inside margin above 42%. Management also expects EBITDA to increase 8-10% and plans to open at least 120 stores through a mix of acquisitions and new construction. Continued development of the prepared food platform and favorable grocery category mix should provide additional support for the company’s inside-store growth strategy.
Casey's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of the company have surged 65.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s 65.9% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CASY is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 1.49X, up from the industry average of 1.12X. It has a Value Score of B.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Casey's fiscal 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 10.2%, whereas the same for fiscal 2028 indicates an uptick of 11%. Estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised downward by 3 cents and 6 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Casey's currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Key Picks
We have highlighted three better-ranked stocks in the retail space, namely Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , Macy's, Inc. (M - Free Report) and Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) .
Target Corporation offers guests fashionable, differentiated merchandise and everyday essentials at discounted prices. It currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests growth of 37.7% and 4.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. TGT delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 10.5%.
Macy's sells a wide range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Macy's current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests decline of 4.3% and growth of 0.1%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. Macy's delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 211%.
Dollar General is one of the largest discount retailers in the United States. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar General’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 7.6% and 3.9%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. DG delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 21%.